This webpage provides schools, families and youth with information, resources, and programming to help support the prevention and cessation of vaping/e-Cigarettes among youth.

Visit Our Health Our City if you would like more information on Toronto’s mental health, substance use, harm reduction and treatment strategy to reduce substance use related harms and promote mental health and well-being across all ages.

Facts About Youth & Vaping

  • One in four students in grades 8 to 12 have tried vaping.
  • Use of vaping products increases with grade, almost quadrupling from grade 8 (five per cent) to grade 12 (twenty-two per cent).
  • Females (eighteen per cent) are twice as likely as males (nine per cent) to report vaping in the past year.
  • Eighty-seven per cent of youth who vape report vaping nicotine.
  • Sixty-seven per cent of youth report that vaping products are fairly easy or very easy to obtain.

For more information, visit the: Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey.

All About Vaping

Vaping is when you puff (breathe in and out) on a battery-operated device, often called an e-Cigarette. The e-cigarette contains e-Juice or a vaping liquid. When this is heated, it creates an aerosol that can be inhaled through the mouth into the lungs.

When you vape, you aren’t breathing in “water vapour.” You are breathing in a combination of substances and chemicals that may cause harm to your lungs.

While the long-term health impacts of vaping are unclear, there is some evidence that exposure to the chemicals in vapour products (glycerol, propylene glycol and flavourings) can result in acute pulmonary lung disease or irreversible lung damage.

Vaping & Nicotine

  • Most vapour produces contain nicotine, which is the very addictive substance in tobacco cigarettes.
  • Vaping nicotine before 25 years of age changes the brain. It can make people feel moody and lead to struggles with focus and learning. This can lead to problems in school and with friends and family, which causes more anxiety and stress.
  • Youth may start vaping to cope with feeling depressed, but vaping can make symptoms the of depression worse. If you are feeling depressed, stressed or overwhelmed, there are supports available.
  • Youth that vape are 3.6 times more likely to start to smoke tobacco cigarettes.

The Smoke Free Ontario Act

Smoking and vaping are not allowed in public and private schools, including the grounds associated with the school, and public areas within 20 metres of any point on the perimeter of the grounds of the school.

It is also illegal to sell tobacco and vapour products in public schools and private schools.

Resources:

Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) 128

Policy/Program Memorandum 128 (PPM 128)has now added e-Cigarettes to the list of prohibited items. School Board codes of conduct must also remind the school community that the use of e-Cigarettes (vaping) at school and on school grounds is prohibited.

At minimum, in the case of these substances being found in possession of students, parents must be notified, and the student must surrender the item(s) to the educator or administrator. Learn more about Policy/Program Memorandum 128.

If you are thinking about vaping or feeling pressured to try vaping, check out Not an Experiment’s Tips and Health Canada’s Tip on Resisting Vaping.

For ideas on youth advocacy on vaping, check out The Truth Initiative, The Lung Foundation or Not an Experiment

Check Out Youth Stories About Vaping:

Adult Allies Working with Youth

If you are an adult ally working with youth, there are various programs and resources that you can use to support youth leadership initiatives.

  • Engage peer leaders to plan, implement and lead fun and interactive activities related to substance use prevention.
  • Encourage schools to recruit student leaders to participate in a school health committee/and or a youth leadership group with a focus on substance use prevention and reducing harms related to substance use.
  • Work with the student committee/and or youth leadership group to identify and address the needs and concerns related to substance use, like tobacco smoking, vaping or other health issues in their school community.

Resources for Youth Engagement

 

Helping youth to avoid starting to vape starts with a conversation with an adult that they trust and who cares about their health and well-being. Parents, family members and other trusted adults can all start a conversation with a young person to prevent or help stop vaping.

Resources:

Talking to Youth About Vaping

  • Check in with yourself – Think about your own feelings, worries and experiences. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. How would you feel receiving this information?
  • Ask questions and listen more than you talk – Ask open-ended questions and restate what you hear.
  • You don’t have to be an expert – Be honest if there’s something you don’t know and take opportunities to learn together.
  • Keep checking in – Youth experiences and pressures are always changing, so keep talking.
  • Create a safe space – Be open, non-judgmental, caring and understanding.
  • Practice skills – Plan and practice what they could say to their friends.
  • Timing is important – Look for opportunities when you have their attention.
  • Offer help – Provide resources or programming that can help youth prevent or quit vaping.

Support for Adult Allies

See the video series on how to talk to youth about vaping:

Resources for youth to help youth quit vaping

  • Quash: A stop vaping/smoking app for youth.
  • Stop Vaping Challenge: An app that provides a venue for youth to reflect on their vaping behaviours and patterns in a fun, social way that encourages quitting with friends.
  • Crush the Crave – Vape Edition: An app that provides supportive messages, virtual awards and help for dealing with vape cravings. The app allows you to track the number of days vape-free, amount of money saved and triggers.
  • Smokers’ Helpline: Offering online resources and a texting program for people looking to quit vaping, smoking or both. Text ‘iQuit’ to 123456 to join.
  • Talk Tobacco: A free confidential program offering culturally appropriate support and information about quitting smoking, vaping and commercial tobacco use to First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous communities.
  • Not an Experiment: An online youth vaping cessation support program where you can create and download a quit plan.
  • Nod from 2050:A resource that encourages youth to reflect on their long-term goals with respect to vaping nicotine.
  • I quit for me: A Government of Canada website, developed in partnership with youth.
  • Quit together: A live video series on TikTok sharing the journey of three influencers who quit vaping with the support of This is Quitting and their followers to show that when someone quits vaping, they do not have to do it alone.
  • Expand Project: An initiative, resource, and social media campaign made by and for queer and trans young adults to encourage dialogue on vaping and smoking.

Resources

  • Call 911 if you are in an emergency, immediate danger, or medical distress. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988.
  • For other needs, call 211 to be connected to mental health and other social services. For more mental health support and resources, please see below.
Mental Health Service Type of Service Offered
Kids Help Phone

1-800-668-6868

Information/counselling
Help Ahead

1-866-585-6486

Counselling/referrals
About Kids Health Information
School Mental Health Ontario Information
Health Connect Ontario

Call 811 for non-urgent health care information

Information
Toronto Public Health

416-338-7600

Information/referrals

Toronto Public Health’s School Liaison Public Health Nurses (SLPHNS) are able to respond to school service requests on vaping.

Please see the list of schools with an assigned SLPHN for the 2024-2025 school year. Schools without an assigned SLPHN as well as parents, guardians and caregivers can also contact Toronto Public Health at publichealth@toronto.ca or 416-338-7600, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Service is available in multiple languages.

Indigenous youth are more likely to vape than non-Indigenous youth. Below are resources developed for Indigenous youth and the adult allies that work with Indigenous youth. Commercial tobacco differs from ceremonial tobacco. Toronto Public Health recognizes the difference between commercial and traditional/sacred tobacco and respects tremendous significance that traditional/sacred tobacco holds for some Indigenous communities.

Educator Resources

Youth Resources

 

Saviez-vous?

  • Environ 1 élève sur 8 (13 %) de la 7e à la 12e année a indiqué qu’il avait utilisé une cigarette électronique (vapoteuse)
  • La prévalence du vapotage s’accroît considérablement selon le niveau scolaire’, passant de 5 % des élèves de 8 e année à 22 % des élèves de 12e année
  • Les filles (18 %) sont deux fois plus susceptibles que les garçons (9 %) d’avoir vapoté au cours de l’année scolaire.
  • Parmi les élèves ayant vapoté en 2023, la plupart (87 %) ont déclaré avoir utilisé un produit contenant de la nicotine.

Pour plus d’informations, visitez le résumé du rapport sur la consommation de drogues : SCDSEO 2023.

Le vapotage consiste à inhaler et à expirer un aérosol généré par un produit de vapotage tel qu’une cigarette électronique. Le vapotage n’implique pas d’allumage de flamme contrairement à fumer la cigarette. Le dispositif réchauffe un liquide et le transforme en aérosol (parfois appelé « vapeur » et souvent appelé faussement« vapeur d’eau »).

Le terme « vapotage » est également utilisé pour désigner l’inhalation d’aérosols du cannabis, qui sont générés par des produits qui diffèrent des produits contenant de la nicotine décrits dans cette page.

Les dispositifs de vapotage sont généralement alimentés par des batteries et ils sont constitués d’éléments détachables.

Le fonctionnement du vapotage (youtube.com)

Pour plus d’informations, visitez, Gouvernement du Canada

Effets sur la santé

  • Effets immédiats et à long terme sur la santé
  • Dommages aux poumons et changements au cerveau
  • Dépendance à la nicotine
  • Difficulté d’apprentissage et diminution du contrôle des impulsions
  • Augmentation du stress et des sentiments d’anxiété
  • Pour plus d’informations, visitez Effets sur la santé.

Les personnes dépendantes de la nicotine ont de fortes envies de vapoter. Ces envies font en sorte qu’elles se sentent mal lorsqu’elles n’ont pas pris de nicotine pendant un certain temps. Lorsqu’elles prennent de la nicotine, ces envies disparaissent pendant une courte période, puis reviennent. La nicotine soulage les envies de fumer, mais pas le stress ni les causes du stress.

Pour plus d’informations, visitez, Pas une expérience

Sanctions

Ontario sans fumée (Loi de 2017 favorisant un)

Politique/Programmes Note 128

Loi de 2017 favorisant un Ontario sans fumée Incidence de la loi sur : les écoles

Ressources familiales

Ressources de préventiondu vapotage chez les jeunes

Les éducateurs

Educateurs – Pas une exper French

Cette page contient des outils et des ressources pratiques que les milieux scolaires et les organismes communautaires peuvent utiliser pour aider à prévenir les méfaits liés à la consommation de substances chez les jeunes

Plan d’abandon

  • Quash: Est une application sans jugement pour vous aider à arrêter de fumer ou de vapoter, comme vous le voulez! Offerte sur l’App Store et sur Google Play.
  • Stop Vaping Challenge: Cette application met le public au défi d’arrêter de vapoter aussi longtemps que possible avec une minuterie qui suit les secondes, les minutes et les heures. Invite des amis à relever le défi par l’application, suis ton humeur et tes envies, enregistre des souvenirs photo et vidéo et trouve des ressources locales sur l’abandon du vapotage. Offerte sur l’App Store et sur Google Play.
  • Santé Canada: Un guide pour les jeunes qui veulent arrêter de fumer et/ou de vapoter.
  • Parlez tabac: Parlez tabac est un programme gratuit et confidentiel qui offre aux Premières Nations, aux Inuits, aux Métis et aux populations indigènes urbaines du soutien et de l’information sur l’abandon du tabac, le vapotage et la consommation de tabac commercial adaptés à leur contexte culturel.